Begin Again
by J.M. Crow
Summary: Mia, a tortured teen starts her life over in a small town in Washington, just when she thinks she's escaped her past she meets William. He's everything she's feared wrapped up into everything she's longed to have. *This is my 1st FF*
1. Chapter One Arrival

**Saturday September 9****th****, 2000**

The black BMW was cruising down the interstate at a reasonable speed; the driver, a middle aged man kept his eyes on the road; he was accompanied in silence by his wife and daughter. They turned off the interstate and continued down a tree lined road for several miles until they reached the town of High Point, population 2,432. The young girl, in the backseat, began to take in her surroundings; not quite what she had in mind, but anything was better than where she had just come from. Quiet and shy, she really was not looking forward to being the new girl in such a small town. When the car pulled to a stop in front of their new home she was slightly relieved to see that it was on the out-skirts of town. She had a better chance of avoiding nosey neighbors here.

"So, what do you think?" Her mom asked as they all stretched their legs from the long drive. Her mom looked like her, except with short hair and laugh lines.

"It's nice." She replied as she let out a yawn.

"Not the house," her mom chuckled. "That." She said as she pointed to a car in the driveway.

"Is that…" she gasped, "for me?"

"Sure is," her dad said throwing her the keys to her new car.

The little silver Honda with black interior was everything she could have imagined. The engine purred to life and hummed quietly as she enjoyed the new car smell. "Fits like a glove," she said smiling at her parents.

Happy to see the smile on their daughter's face her parents let her enjoy her new car for awhile. Before long her mom waved her into the house excited to show it off. From the street, the outside of the house was plain, not that she cared. They didn't move here for luxury, they moved out of necessity. Inside was not much different. A musty smell smacked her in the face as she walked into the foyer, and she realized she had better get used to it; this was one of the rainiest places in the world. Being completely dry was no longer an option for anything, including the air. Her mom had moved to the kitchen, still chattering away, while her dad made himself comfortable on their new couch in the living room.

"The kitchen is small, but your dad and I already have some thoughts to expand it out toward the front door. And when the renovation is done, I'll need your help picking out colors and helping me with the design." She just smiled at her mother and nodded waiting patiently for her mom to take a breath so she could ask where the bathroom was.

"It looks like it's going to start raining soon." Her dad yelled from the living room.

_Looks like it's going to start raining soon_, the girl thought to herself, _of course it looks like its going rain, it's Washington. _She continued to examine her new home while searching for the bathroom, completely giving up on her mom who had now moved to the living room she had "big plans" for. Despite the odd smell, outdated layout of the house, and the weather (that completely explained the suicide rate she read about on the internet) she was happy, though you would never know by looking at her; she rarely smiled anymore. But she was genuinely happy, looking forward to moving on with her life and starting over fresh.

The bathroom was at the top of the stairs, small, quaint, and the only one. Again, she didn't mind; it took very little to please her anymore. She took a quick look at herself in the mirror confirming what she already knew. Her ivory skin looked almost translucent without the sun, eye's darker now with no light to bring out the green in them, dark hair piled on the top of her head like a birds nest, she had an athletic build but no reason for it, and no smile.

"Spectacular look Em…Mia…" She said to herself. She had been memorizing her new name for weeks. They could only think it at this point because speaking it would leave too many clues. But that girl, with that name, was dead, and the plan was to forget she ever existed. She took one last look and splashed some cold water on her face to help wake her up after the drive; then she went in search of her room.

"Mom," she yelled from the top of the stairs, "which one is my room?"

"At the top of the stairs, turn right. Your room is at the end of the hall." Her mom yelled from the kitchen.

"Top of the stairs, turn right, end of the hall," Mia said to herself, left was not an option so that made it easier to navigate. Once she was in her room, she sat down on the bed that had been ordered new and delivered prior to their arrival. She took a nice long look around, light carpet, beige walls, and a new computer on her new desk. She inspected her closet, and admired her new view of the front yard. Past the front yard were the woods, woods that lined their drive into town, woods that bordered her new home, her new future. They made her feel safe, secure, like she had a wall built around her that no one could get through. She opened her window to let in some fresh air then investigated her new furniture.

Everything was new, it had to be even the clothes in the dresser drawers were brand new. All the blankets and sheets that were stored in a cedar chest in the corner were new. Mia remembered the time her parents went away for a 'romantic weekend'. She worried about them and whether or not he would figure out what they were doing. But when they got back it seemed like their plan was in full swing and it would only be a matter of time before she would be free of him forever.

"Hey," her dad called as he came into her room. "What do you think of your new room?"

"It's great." She said with more enthusiasm then either of them expected

"What would you like me to do with this," he asked holding up the one bag Mia had brought with her.

"Just set it down I'll get to it later."

"Your mom and I are going to run out and do some grocery shopping, would you like us to get you anything?"

"No, I'm fine, thanks"

"Alright, we'll be back in a little while." He said as he left the room.

Mia examined the bag her dad had brought up to her room, she ruffled through it and pulled out a red sketchbook then she quickly shoved the bag under her bed to be forgotten forever, hopefully. Feeling the exhaustion finally catch up with her she decided to lie down until her parents got back.

**Sunday September 10****th****, 2000**

Something bright and seemingly unnatural woke Mia; it took her a moment to realize she had slept through the night and that the sun of all things was shinning in on her. She looked at the clock, seven, she checked herself and seemed well rested so she decided to get up despite the time.

"So the sun does exist in this town." Mia said to herself as she grabbed some fresh clothes to wear. It was Sunday, one more day before she officially started her new life, with her new name, in a new town, at a new school. It was September and although the school year had already started Mia felt better knowing it was not too far along. She walked quietly past her parent's bedroom, and into the bathroom for a long awaited shower.

The hot water felt miraculously good on the aching muscles that had just started to wake up. This was more than just a morning shower, as she started to relax she felt the water wash away her pain, her fear, wash away the smell of his breath, and the feel of his skin, all washed down the drain never to return again. Hope crept into her heart again, a feeling she had long forgotten and although no one was there to witness it a smile appeared on her face as she felt the weight lift from her shoulders. After her shower she got dressed in a pair of blue jeans, a comfy hooded sweatshirt and boots. She had plans for today; she had made them yesterday when she saw the woods around her house. She was going to find a place where she could go and be alone, where no one would interrupt her, a place all to herself. It was in those woods and she was determined to find it. She left a note for her parents so they would not worry; they had done enough of that over the years.

Thanks for letting me sleep.

Went exploring, be back later.

Love,

Mia

Once outside Mia realized that the sun did nothing for the temperature and was glad she decided on the sweatshirt. Even though she knew the sun played no part in restraining him she had wished they could have picked a warmer place to live. But she knew that would be the first place he would look if he didn't believe their story so with hunched shoulders she started on her journey. She walked through her front yard, past her car, across the street and into the shielding woods. Most people would not think of woods as a safe place to spend time alone but Mia had experienced much more than her fair share of danger and the stillness of the trees gave her peace. It was not long before she had found a trail, not commonly used but still visible. The growth had not quite taken it and before long she noticed some light creeping through the trees several yards off the trail. Keeping a close eye on how far she walked off trail she came into a clearing, eyes squinting as they adjusted to the sunlight being let in by the break in the trees. She had found what she was looking for. It was perfect, exactly as she had imagined it. It was almost surreal the way the trees parted and formed a complete circle, letting the sky in and keeping the rest of the world out. Mia surveyed the area already decided that she had found her spot and noticed a fallen tree slightly to the right of the circle. She investigated its sturdiness by jumping on it a few times and tested its dampness with her hand.

_I'll have to bring a blanket with me next time; the sun doesn't stand a chance against all this moisture._ She thought to herself as she cleared some fallen branches to make a nice bench for herself.

"Perfect." She said knowing she was all alone to enjoy her new discovery.

Without a clue as to what time it was she decided to head home. Carefully she back tracked her way to the trail, again keeping a close eye to make sure she would have no trouble finding her clearing next time. Once out of the thick of the trees she could see her house. When she crossed her front yard she noticed that they lived on a pretty quiet street and had yet to see one car pass by. This would have been dangerous before but now she felt at peace with the seclusion. When she walked through the front door, she could hear her mom in the kitchen, discussing plans to knock down walls and move major appliances. The image of her father rolling his eyes to the upcoming construction made Mia smile to herself.

"M…ia, is that you?" Her mom called. A moment passed before she responded, causing her mom to stop what she was doing and poke her head around the corner to see for herself who had just entered her new home.

"Yeah, it's me." This new name was going to take some getting used to, she could clearly hear the awkwardness in her mom's voice and obviously she did not respond fast enough to her own name.

"Don't worry sweetie you'll get used to it." Her mom said in a comforting tone, while patting her on the back.

"So where'd you run off to so early this morning?" Her dad asked out of sheer desperation for a different topic. Mia had been given as much freedom to do as she'd pleased for years now, her parents felt that was the least they could do. So knowing the question was merely a plea for help instead of a request for information Mia gladly answered.

"Oh, I just wanted to explore the area a bit, get a little more acquainted with my surroundings."

"And did you find anything interesting?" Her mom asked eyes still on the wall she planned on tearing down.

"Actually…um, no, nothing of any interest just trees and grass." Mia replied wanting to keep her sun kissed clearing all to herself. Knowing her parents trusted her she did not feel bad keeping this small secret to herself, there was so much more they knew that she wished they had not.

Mia could see the wheels of construction starting to turn again in her mom's eyes and wanting to give her dad a few more moments of peace she suggested they go over their plan one last time.

"So I thought since tomorrow is the first day of school for me and work for you that we should go over our stories one last time."

"Sweetie, we've done this a thousand times, no one is going to figure it out, and you don't have anything to worry about anymore. Heck, before you know it we'll even be believing the stories ourselves." Her mom said, now focusing on her daughter.

Mia wanted to believe that and for a short moment she let herself hope that it was possible to completely forget the past and take on these new lives as if they had always existed.

"I know, I know, but it would make me feel better if we went over it one last time." Mia pushed, squeezing in a wink for her dad. Catching on, her dad started with the specifics.

"Okay then. Tomorrow you will be the newest student at the local High School; you will be a senior, transferring from your previous High School in Pennsylvania."

"Yes that's right, senior year, again." Mia interjected, clearly frustrated with this small fact.

"Yes, again." Her mom insisted.

"Right, tomorrow I will be the newest addition to the Class of 2001 at High Point… Wait what's the school called, High Point High? That sounds ridiculous."

"I believe they just call it Point High." Her mom informed her.

"Well that's a little bit better, I guess. So tomorrow the new student, Mia Russo will start her second senior year at Point High in High Point, WA." Mia grimaced at the thought; the school had a frightening total of only three hundred sixty two, now sixty three students, compared to her graduating class of over five hundred. "She moved here with her mother Loretta, but everyone calls her Lori, and her father Anthony, but everyone calls him Tony."

"Lori, works at the town library as an Administrative Assistant." Her mom continued.

"And Tony, works at the small town airport as an aviation mechanic. He met his wife, Loretta DeLuca, in high school; they will be celebrating their twenty second anniversary in May. He graduated in '77, she graduated in '78 and they were married in '79. They had their first and only daughter in '83 who will be celebrating her second 18th birthday this March." Her dad completed, throwing his daughter a quick smile at the mention of her second 18th birthday.

"And we moved here because dad was laid off and couldn't find work." Mia added.

"That's right," her mom concluded.

Hope flowed through Mia's veins as she dreamed of a time when her nights would be nightmare free, when happily ever after would no longer be just the end of childhood fairy tales. A time when a smile on her face would not be cause to stop the presses, a time when she could laugh freely with no fear that he was ever going to find her again. Hope was dangerous in the past, and might still be, but for a moment she let the feeling flutter inside her.


	2. Chapter Two Meeting

**Monday September 11****th****, 2000**

The next day Mia's alarm woke her, her night had been restless. But despite the lack of sleep she had grown used to functioning with, she woke up feeling refreshed. Picking the first day of school clothes had never been this difficult; she was debating between sweats and something more formal like khakis. Splitting the difference she grabbed a pair of jeans, a simple white t-shirt to go underneath a green sweater, and boots. Always the boots, this place was probably never going to let her wear sneakers again. She threw her hair up in its nest and headed downstairs. Not hungry she by-passed the kitchen and left for school, her parents had already left for the day, and as she was leaving she spotted a note on the door from her mom.

Have a great first day.

Try and be pleasant to the other students.

Love,

Mom

_What did she mean by "pleasant"?_ "I'm always pleasant." Mia snorted to herself as she grabbed her jacket and locked the door behind her.

Finding the school was not difficult in such a small town. It was walking distance from her house but it had already started raining and Mia was grateful she had a car. There was a thick fog surrounding the school, it felt like a cage. The parking lot was filling up and she felt the curious stares as she looked for a spot to park. She slung her bag over her shoulder, sucked in a huge breath. _I can do this,_ she lied to herself. She finally exhaled and stepped out of her car and made her way to the main office to check in. Inside the office she relaxed a bit, whether due to the warmth of the small room or the fact that the receptionist was the only one in there.

"Can I help you?" The small woman behind the counter asked as Mia approached.

"Yes, my name is Mia Russo, I'm a new student." Mia responded knowing full well that this woman knew who she was and was expecting her.

"Well Hello Mia, I'm Mrs. Johnson, welcome to Point High. I have your new schedule right here and I just need you to sign a few things and fill out a medical card for the nurses office." She said as she handed Mia the forms and a pen. "I've asked one of your classmates to show you around today, I believe you have your first period class with him. Ah, there he is now, Michael this is Mia." She said as she introduced the two to one another.

"Hey there Mia, you can call me Mike." He said with more enthusiasm than Mia would have liked.

"Hello"

Mrs. Johnson turned her attention back to Mia and informed her that she could bring those forms back with her tomorrow. Mia nodded and turned to follow Mike to their first class which was apparently English.

Keeping her mother's note in mind she considered that the pleasant thing to do would be to talk to this new boy she was forced to spend the day with.

"So I guess you're stuck with me for the day." Mia said hoping he did not notice her disappointment. She had trouble relating to people her age, well people in general.

"It's my pleasure, here let me see your schedule, looks like we have a few classes together." He said

Not at all surprised Mia just smiled in response, with a school this small she was bound to know the whole student body by the end of the day. She walked beside Mike to their first class. She could feel everyone's eyes on her as they walked through the hallways and was glad she did not need to do much of the talking. Mike seemed to enjoy talking without her participation.

She followed him through the door of their first class, it was small. Mike introduced her to the English teacher, a tall balding man whose nameplate identified him as Mr. Taylor. He gawked at Mia and then proceeded to give her a textbook and assign her a seat. Grateful to be in the back of the class where she could dodge some of the curious glances Mia prayed her teachers would not make her introduce herself. Mia looked over the reading list the teacher handed her, she wished she'd saved her old assignments; they would have made repeating her senior year a little easier.

The rest of the morning went on like this, Mike walking her to her next class talking about the football team, his friends, fun things to do on the weekends.

"So, I guess this is a lot different from Pennsylvania, huh?" he asked.

"Yeah."

"Does it rain much there?"

"Not as much as it does here, I'm sure."

"Wonder what that's like?" he pondered.

"Sunnier," Mia told him.

"You're not very tan."

Mia couldn't help herself, "I'm part vampire."

Mike studied her face apprehensively. It looked like clouds and sarcasm didn't mix. Mia sighed in disappointment; sarcasm was the only kind of humor she enjoyed.

When they did not have class together he would be there waiting for her afterwards. As they walked to the cafeteria for lunch, some of Mike's friends caught up to them waiting impatiently to be introduced to the new girl.

"Hey guys, this is Mia." Mike said, his tone skirting ownership of the new girl.

A pretty girl with light brown hair squeezed in between Mike and Mia and introduced herself first. "Hi, I'm Charlotte; I think we have Algebra together." Knowing that they did, Mia smiled in response. She could tell that although polite Charlotte was making it clear that Mike belonged to her. Mia had no problems with this; she had no interest in boys. Below the radar is where she wanted to stay and a boyfriend was not on her list of priorities.

"This is Melissa." Charlotte said as she pointed to the quiet girl walking slightly behind her.

"Hello, it's nice to finally meet you." Melissa said in a soft almost silent tone, confirming her shyness. Mia was glad she would not be the only one who was quiet and shy in this school.

"And I'm Sam." A large boy said as he pushed past Mike, who had moved to the other side of Mia, and was now standing next to her.

"Hello" Mia replied knowing she had already forgotten all of their names.

The cafeteria was small, but typical. When they walked in, the line for food was to their right; Mike guided her in, asking what she wanted to eat. Just then as if on command the back door to the cafeteria opened, the cold air that rushed in caught Mia's attention and when she looked for its source she saw a very attractive couple glide into the lunch room.

When Mia laid her eyes on these two beautiful people she froze in place, she gasped for air and her books dropped from her hands crashing to the floor. She hurried to hide the horror on her face from her classmates as she bent to pick up her books.

"Who are they?" Mia asked Mike, pronouncing every word slowly in an attempt to hide her fear and control her shaking.

"Who them? Oh, that's Elizabeth Montgomery and Christopher Croft." The girl was tall and beautiful; her hair was golden, gently waving to the middle of her back. The boy was big, muscled like a serious weight lifter, with dark hair.

"Behind them coming in are Ella Croft and Wesley Trapp. The all live together with Christopher and Ella's aunt and uncle." Mike said with distaste in his tone. This girl was different, short, pixie like. Her hair was deep black, cropped short and pointed in every direction, while the boy was taller, leaner, but still muscular and blond.

"I think it's ridiculous, if you ask me?" Charlotte added.

"Who cares, they stick to themselves and it's not like they're related." Sam countered as he loaded his tray.

"Oh and that's William Croft." Charlotte added just as he walked through the door. William was more boyish than the others; Mia could see he had dimples when he smiled, though he wasn't smiling now. He was tall and lean, with untidy dark hair. "He's gorgeous, of course, but don't waste your time. He doesn't date. Apparently none of the girls here are good looking enough for him." She sniffed.

"I hadn't noticed." Mia said distracted by Charlotte's wounded pride, she wondered when he'd turned her down. "Um, I'm not really hungry, actually is there a bathroom close by?" She asked as she paid for her soda.

"Yeah, sure its right around the corner, on your left." Melissa said.

"Thank's" Mia replied.

Once in the bathroom, Mia quickly checked under the stalls and to her relief she was alone. She locked herself in the farthest stall and began the breakdown she had been controlling since the moment she saw them. Panic seized her throat as she gasped for air.

"Get control of yourself. You can't pass out right now." She said to herself. _Who are they? Did they come looking for me? What are they doing here, do they know? Or do I just have the most amazing luck on earth and walked right into an ambush…_ Her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of Charlotte and Melissa coming to see if she was okay.

"Hey, Mia are you in here?" Charlotte bellowed concern far from her tone.

"Yeah, I'm here, I'll just be a second." Mia took a moment to compose herself. She had to get through this. The plan had been made, there was no turning back now, and too much was at stake if they were not here for her. She knew they existed, and she prayed this was just a coincidence, a sick twisted kind of coincidence that would only happen to the most unlucky human on the planet.

When she came out of the stall Charlotte did not seem to notice that anything was wrong, but Melissa could tell something was not right. _Perceptive,_ Mia thought to herself as she caught the concern in Melissa's eyes. After making some adjustments to her hair Charlotte lead both Mia and Melissa back into the lunch room to her group's table.

"Mia, you alright?" Mike asked seemingly concerned. This irritated Charlotte so she felt the need to sooth Mike by answering for Mia.

"Geez Mike she's fine, it's just first day gitters."

Although completely off the mark, Mia was grateful for Charlotte's abrasiveness. First day gitters would be acceptable, what Mia was feeling right now was fear for her life. Once at the table surrounded by her classmates Mia took a quick glance toward the pale but gorgeous group of strangers on the other side of the room. There was something different about them; they were sitting in the corner of the cafeteria, as far away from where everyone else sat as possible. They weren't talking, and they weren't eating, though they each had a tray of untouched food in front of them. There were acting like, like humans. She could see them fidgeting around trying to look natural. But that was not what kept her gaze or what seemed most contradictory to what she was used to. It was their eyes. They were gold, some lighter than others but definitely gold, not the blood red she had grown too loath and detest. _Did they come in different species,_ she thought to herself.

"For not having noticed, you sure are staring." Charlotte whispered to Mia. "See Dr. & Mrs. Croft took in their niece Ella and nephews; William and Christopher. I guess Mrs. Croft can't have kids because they adopted Elizabeth and Wesley. The sick part is they paired up and all live in the same house together." _Of course she's already crushing on William Croft_, Charlotte thought to herself.

A quick nod quieted Charlotte for a moment, while Mia's mind started to wonder again. _Who are they, what are they doing here, what's with this elaborate story about how they all knew each other, and why do they seem so different from the other's? _They were all looking away, away from each other, away from the other students, away from anything in particular as far as Mia could tell.

Just then as if he could hear her thoughts, William, looked up and caught Mia staring. Quickly Mia looked away, not from embarrassment but from fear.

William turned as a reflex reaction to the sound of his name; though it was not being called it was being thought. His eyes locked for a small portion of a second with a pair of wide amber eyes set in a pale round face. He knew the face, though he'd never seen it himself before this moment. It had been the main thought in every human head that day, the new student, Mia Russo. William looked away, bored; it took him a moment to realize she had not been the one to think his name.

"The new girl is finding out about us." William said to his family.

Christopher chuckled under his breath "Oh yeah, anything interesting?"

"Nothing out of the ordinary." He replied, slightly confused as to why he could not hear what the new girl was thinking. His ability had always come naturally; he did his best to tune out his families thoughts out of respect and to tune out the petty thoughts of his classmates for his sanity. But when he heard Charlotte informing this new girl about his family he waited patiently to hear what she thought, only, he did not hear anything. It was William's responsibility to know her reaction. He acted as the lookout, for lack of a better word, for his family. He looked up to see if she was still there, and caught her looking at him, not surprised by that fact, people usually took quick glances at his family until their instincts told them better. But why couldn't he hear what she was thinking. _Very peculiar_ he thought.

_This new girl, Mia_ he thought, _she seems different, quiet_; he could not grasp all the excitement over her. Granted she was vaguely pretty, her skin was rather fair, and her eyes fascinating. He wanted her to look up so he could get a better look. Confused by his sudden fascination with her he leaned in a bit to try and catch a thought; he had never had to try before, it just happened. Reasonably frustrated by this new difficulty he listened to the students surrounding her. It was not long before their ridiculous fantasies or petty jealousy began to test his patience. It seemed as though this new student had stirred something up between Charlotte and Mike, _typical,_ he thought to himself. Sam was waiting to make his move out of respect for Mike. But Melissa's thoughts were simpler, sweeter. William stayed there for a little while.

_Mia looks upset, she seems shy, this must be hard for her being the new student in such a small town. I should try to distract her... _William paid close attention. He had never had to read a person's face before; he always relied on his ability to hear what they were thinking. If anyone ever grew suspicious, William could give his family early warning and an easy retreat. It happened occasionally; an active imagination would run too far, and William was the one to alert his family so they could move on. Not being able to hear what this new girl was thinking was making him anxious.

"What's the rest of your schedule like, Mia?" Melissa asked, hoping to interrupt whatever trance had Mia so upset. William was grateful for Melissa's question, maybe if he heard her voice he would be able to pick it out of the crowd, although that had never been a problem before. Quietly without looking up Mia handed her schedule to Melissa. _Damn It!_ William thought to himself, _she's a mute._

"Oh, we have Government together, 7th period." Melissa said with genuine enthusiasm. William got a look at Mia's schedule while Melissa scanned over it and saw that they had next period together. He would find out more then.

Mia nodded towards Melissa's remark, but kept her eyes down in case he was still looking in her direction. Quite frustrated, William stood up rather quickly, and left the lunch room. To the human eye his brother's and sister's did not seem to notice, but surprise flashed across all their faces for a split second.

"What's his problem?" Elizabeth said to low for human ears to hear.

"I'm not sure." Ella replied. The family depended on Ella as much as they did William for information. What William could not hear, Ella could see. A little confused they all decided to leave lunch early. Ella was hoping to find William so she should see if he was okay.

It was time for lunch to end, so Mike helped Mia gather her books, annoying Charlotte in the process. Mia's attention was on staying calm so she let him help her with her books and stood slowly to follow him to her next period. She was unaware of the fact that the table across the room that she had been avoiding eye contact with had already emptied. Once in the hall she tried desperately to relax.

"Cool. We have next period together." Mike said, grinning from ear to ear.

On the way to their next class Mia focused on calming down while Mike continued on his quest to impress her with his football stats. When they reached the classroom, Mike did not need to tell her it was Art, it was obvious from the projects lining the walls and window sills, paint dripped on every surface from the generations before her. Instantly Mia was relieved. _Finally a class I can enjoy_, she thought to herself. She felt more at ease as she scanned the classroom, not making eye contact with any of her new classmates. She passed over their heads, one by one, suddenly stopping, something had caught her attention and slowly looking down she let her eyes meet his.

"Oh shit!" Mia mumbled to herself as she turned to escape the classroom only to run into Mike who was still introducing her to the art teacher. Slightly caught off guard, but grateful for the chance, Mike instantly put his arm around Mia to embrace her. The teacher, Mrs. DeSimone was still tying on her paint covered apron and did not seem to notice the small collision. When she looked up she greeted Mia with a big smile, oblivious to the terror in her eyes, she personally escorted her to the only seat available. When she was turned around Mia realized where the only available seat was and immediately thought it was a sick joke. _You have got to be kidding me!_ Mia thought to herself, _my favorite subject, the one class I could look forward to and he's in it and not only is he in it, it looks like I have to sit next to him. Could my luck get any better,_ she finished to herself as she stiffened up and let her eyes fall to the ground.

_What a very odd girl,_ William thought to himself. Although she had cursed to low for anyone else to hear it was quite audible to him. He began to worry when he realized she was fleeing because of him, without being able to hear what she was thinking he could only assume she was frightened. At least that's what it looked like to him; again he was not used to relying on facial expressions. _Did she know?_ He thought to himself. He was not sure what to make of this girl or her reactions to him. He knew that despite their attempts to look human his family gave off just the right amount of danger, so that even if they did not realize it their human instincts told them to steer clear. She was moving very awkwardly as if she did not want to stir up the air around her. Her eyes never left the floor as they approached his table. _Poor girl,_ he thought to himself, whatever was bothering her, sitting next to him was not going to make it any better. But he was hoping that the closeness might help him single out her thoughts, not that he needed to be close before, but he hoped nevertheless.

"Here you are dear, right here next to my sweet William. You take care of our new girl, William, she looks very talented." Mrs. DeSimone said as she held out the seat for Mia to sit. Apparently, William was one of her favorites. This confused William because the rest of his teachers disliked the fact that he knew more than they did, but he enjoyed the praise from the simple minded art teacher. Being the teacher's favorite did not confuse Mia, however, _who wouldn't love him,_ she thought to herself_. Look at him, he's stunning. _ The few, very brief glances she had of him revealed what she already knew, he was beautiful. Dark black hair, perfect pale skin, with those distinguishing purple circles around his golden eyes. His face looked like it had been chiseled out of stone; _felt that way too,_ she remembered. Features defined and muscular, and had she not known why he looked the way he did she would have swooned over him. But despite his looks she was terrified, and sure he knew it. _Maybe,_ she thought to herself _that is the key to getting rid of them. They seem to be trying awfully hard to blend in; maybe if I hint to him that I know, they'll leave. Or maybe he'll just kill me,_ she concluded. She spent the next half hour sitting perfectly motionless doing everything she could to keep the air around her still, she could not be sure that it mattered but she did not want to take any chances.

William reacted to her stillness with apprehension, he understood it and felt almost bad for the girl, but there was an urge he had never experienced before to learn why. He assumed it was because he could not hear what she was thinking. Even now three feet from her he heard nothing. His seat in the classroom had been strategically picked. He was near the window and as far away from the other students as possible, well, until now. He was grateful that Mrs. DeSimone allowed him to run a fan near his seat; it blew the smell of the humans away from him and fresh air from the open window towards him. He had no interest in any of them but it had been too long since his last hunt and he could feel his hunger today.

Just then, Mia, exhaled harder than she should have, Mrs. DeSimone ran past her to catch a falling piece of art and a wave of her scent flew straight towards William, barely distracted by the fan blowing behind him. She gasped trying to take back the smell headed his way, knowing what was about to happen.

Her eyes met his, both pairs full and dark, his raging with fury and hers flooded with panic. A quiet war raged between them that the rest of the room was unaware of. Her scent hit him like a wrecking ball, like a battering ram. There was no image violent enough to summarize the force of what happened to him in that moment. In that instant, William was nothing close to the human he had once been, no trace of humanity remained. He was a predator and Mia was his prey. For William was a vampire and Mia had the sweetest blood he'd smelled in eighty years.

Thirst burned through his throat like fire. There was a fresh flow of venom as his stomach twisted with hunger. His muscles coiled to spring. Not a full second had passed; when their eyes met William could see his reflection in hers. The shock from the face he saw saved Mia's life for a moment. Mia didn't make it easier for him, as she processed the expression on his face, blood flooded her cheeks, turning her skin the most delicious color William had ever seen. William tried to focus on the face he'd seen in her eyes, a face he recognized with revulsion. The face of the monster in him, the face he had beaten back with decades of effort and uncompromising discipline. How easily it sprang to the surface now! The scent swirled around him, scattering his thoughts and nearly propelling him out of his seat. _No_. William gripped the edge of the table to hold himself in place.

Someone opened the window behind William sending ordinary unscented air across his face, and for one short second he could think clearly. In that precious second he saw two faces, one was his, the red-eyed monster and the other was Phillip. There was no resemblance between the two faces; there was no reason for there to be. Phillip was not William's father in the biological sense. They shared no common features, the similarity in there coloring was a product of what they were; the similarity in their eye color was a product of their mutual choice. But in a few moments any resemblance would be lost, there would be nothing left in William that would reflect the years he'd spent with his creator, his mentor, his father in all the ways that counted.

Mia could see the fury still in his eyes, no longer gold, black now. She could see his grip on the table was firm and he seemed to be arguing with himself. _This is completely out of character,_ she thought, her heart starting to slow as she realized he was not going to harm her here. _What is he waiting for,_ she pondered to herself, _they must truly be trying to live amongst these humans._ All her experience told her she should have been dead by now, along with her classmates and teacher. Becoming more and more amazed at this one's self control she cocked her head to one side as if asking a question.

He noticed this subtle gesture and it very slightly distracted him from the ferocity inside him. _Is she mentally stable,_ he wondered to himself, _she knows something is wrong and that I'm dangerous and yet she looks intrigued? Who is this girl sent here to unravel all that my family has built, why did she have to come here and destroy everything? Why did she have to exist? Why had she ever been born? She will ruin me,_ William thought to himself. He turned his face away from her, as a sudden fierce, unreasoning hatred washed through him.

Mia's amazement soon turned to sympathy, this poor creature, not like the rest, was trying to restrain himself. _I wonder what he's doing,_ she thought, _he looks like he's in a lot of pain. _Surprised by her reaction to a creature she feared more than anything, she found herself concerned for him. Despite everything he was capable of she did not want to see him suffer. _What is so different about him?_ She contemplated this until the bell rang to dismiss class. As she expected he was up out of his seat and gone by the time she blinked. It took her a moment to realize Mike was standing next to her, eager to walk her to her next class. She had been completely oblivious to what they had done in class but could tell from the look of Mike's shirt it had something to do with pastels. Finally being able to breath she exited the class cautiously, _maybe he had only been restraining himself until he could find her alone, _she deliberated to herself. _I'll have to stick to the crowds for awhile_ she thought to herself disliking the idea the moment she thought it.

"So, did you stab William Croft with a pencil or what? I've never seen him act like that." Mike asked almost revealing his excitement that William Croft did not seem interested in Mia.

_Crap! He noticed,_ she said to herself. Unsure of this odd family's intention in this small town, and still trying to protect their months and months of planning, she did not want to take any chances of bringing more attention to herself so she denied noticing.

"I'm not sure I know what you mean."

"He looked like he was in pain or something. Don't worry though, he's a freak; his whole family is that's why they stick to themselves." Mike said thankful for Mia's disinterest in the good looking Croft family.

William had escaped to his car; he didn't have enough discipline to be around humans now. What helped now was the cool, wet, clean air that drifted through his open windows. Though he could remember the scent of her blood with perfect clarity, inhaling the clean air was like washing out the inside of his body. He was sane again, he could think again and he could fight again. Fight against what he didn't want to be.

_Perhaps if I avoid her,_ William thought, _very, very carefully, my life would not have to change. _He would not have to disappoint his father. He would not have to cause his mother stress, worry…pain. Yes it would hurt his adopted mother, too. And Katherine was so gentle, so tender and soft. Causing someone like Katherine pain was truly inexcusable.

As Mia walked to the parking lot her fear rose up again, she had not seen any of them since her art class and rather preferred it that way. She kept to the group of students surrounding her in case that was the only reason she was still alive. She thought about being in the car alone and then being home alone. She was grateful her parents worked later than school, she hated the thought of them in danger. She decided as she walked along with her class mates that if this was her time she could handle it, as long as everyone else was safe. She was not afraid of death, on several occasions she welcomed it, begged and pleaded for it in fact. It was the love she had for her parents that kept her from taking her own life. But now it just seemed inevitable and if this was how she was going to die she wanted to make sure her family would be safe.

"William?" Ella asked, alarm in her voice as she slid into his car.

He just shook his head at her.

"What the hell happened to you?" Christopher demanded.

Instead of answering William threw the car in reverse, swung it around and accelerated, hitting forty before he was on the road. Without looking William knew that Christopher, Elizabeth and Wesley had all turned to stare at Ella. She shrugged. She couldn't see what had passed only what was coming. She looked ahead for him now; they both processed what she saw in her head and were both surprised.

"You're leaving?" she whispered. The others stared at William now.

"Am I?" he hissed through his teeth.

Ella saw it then, as William's resolve wavered and another choice spun his future in a darker direction, Mia Russo, dead. William's eyes, glowing crimson with fresh blood.

"Oh." Ella said, the picture growing more specific. William saw the inside of Mia's house; she was in the kitchen as William stalked her.

"Stop!" William groaned, not able to bare much more.

"Sorry," she whispered, her eyes wide. Just then the vision in Ella's head shifted to a dark highway, the tree's beside it flashing by. "I'll miss you," she said.

Christopher and Elizabeth exchanged an apprehensive glance as the car approached the turn to their driveway.

"Drop us here," Ella instructed. "You should tell Phillip yourself."

William nodded and stopped to let his family out, they would make Ella explain once he was gone. He turned the car around and accelerated back toward town, as he sped back, William wasn't sure where he was going. To say goodbye to his father? Or to embrace the monster inside him?

Mia was glad that she did not have any more run-ins with the Croft family on her way home from school. Of course she knew there was a very good chance one of them would be waiting for her inside. She sat in her car, parked outside of her house, for a minute remembering the hope she had just that morning and realizing once again that hope was a lost cause in her life. She had thought about her death many times, this was not what she pictured. She hoped she would have the chance to request that he hide her body, her parents did not need to see that. _Well time to go,_ she thought to herself as she got out of her car and walked up to the house. Everything looked in place, but these were delicate predators and as easy as it was for them to crush bones between two fingers it was just as easy for them to stroke the side of a bubble without popping it. So instead of going out of her way to inspect her home she went about her normal routine. If it was going to happen there was nothing she could do about it. She put her books down and started to get things out for dinner.

The night went by peacefully; Mia had made dinner for her parents so that when they got home they could all sit down to eat and talk about their days. Her mom and dad seemed to enjoy their first days of work. When they asked about her day she gave them the highlights, leaving out anything that had to do with the Croft family. As the evening continued Mia wondered if she had been right about William and his family. She did not expect to be alive at this point and still half expected there to be a killer in her bedroom when she went up to bed. So when she thought the time had come to go to bed, she said good night to her parents hugging them just a little bit longer than necessary and headed to her room, to her surprise everything was normal when she got there. She got into bed, knowing another restless night was ahead and wondered about the strange family.

**Tuesday September 12****th****, 2000**

Mia jumped when her alarm went off the next morning, either because she was actually asleep or because she never expected to wake up. Again with the best of her ability she got ready for her second day of school. _Maybe I just imagined it, maybe I'm just losing my mind and seeing things that aren't really there,_ she thought to herself as she stared into her closet. _But Mike and Charlotte saw the difference, they noticed that the Croft's were not like them, _she continued. Finally realizing she was going to be late she pushed her inquiry to the side and finished getting ready. She was not hungry again so she left straight for school, stopping only for a moment to see if anyone was in her house that was not supposed to be.

When she got to school, Mike was there with the group she had been adopted by, waiting for her. She parked, and walked over to greet them.

"Hey Mia" Mike said, an unnecessarily large smile creeping on his face. This annoyed Charlotte to no end so she made a point to grab Mia by the arm and escort her to the girl's room closest to them. Melissa followed as if out of sheer habit.

"Okay, spill." Charlotte said in an excited tone. "Mike said you and William Croft had some sort of fight yesterday."

"What?" Was all Mia could come up with. "I don't know what Mike is talking about. He asked me yesterday what I'd done to William and I told him I didn't know what he was talking about. He must have imagined it because William and I didn't even speak to one another."

"That's strange, when we got here this morning he was bragging about how you didn't seem interested in William and that you must have turned him down because he looked furious." Charlotte pressed.

"No, nothing like that happened." Mia replied, annoyed by the fact that Mike had created some kind of incident and assumed that she had turned William down. She no longer wanted to have this conversation so she tried to change the subject quickly. She could tell Charlotte was a relatively conceited girl so she knew any topic that was about her would do. "Forget about William, what about you and Mike?"

"Why? Did he say something, did you hear something?" Charlotte asked instantly forgetting anything that had to do with William Croft.

"No he didn't say anything. You can just tell that something is going on between you two." Of course this was completely because Charlotte made it very clear that she wanted something to be going on between them; Mike on the other hand was oblivious.

"Really! Oh I wish he would ask me to the Homecoming Dance, it's in a few weeks you know and I just keep thinking he's going to but then he doesn't."

"Well maybe you should ask him."

Melissa was still with them but had yet to say anything so Mia felt it necessary to bring her into the conversation.

"What about you Melissa, are you interested in anyone?"

"Who me? No, well, no, not really, I mean yes, there is this one guy."

Girl talk was painful for Mia and she could see it was going to be like pulling teeth to get Melissa to talk. Thankfully Charlotte, just like Mike, had no problem monopolizing the conversation without Mia or Melissa's help. They walked to class like this with Charlotte chattering on about Mike and her second and third choices if he was not interested. Mia was glad her first class was not with Charlotte it had only been a few minutes and she was already exhausted by the onslaught of information she cared nothing about. The rest of the morning went by peacefully; she never saw any of the Crofts and was anxious for lunch to see if she had completely imagined them.

When she got there she was slightly relieved to see that yes they did exist and that for the moment she was not crazy but she noticed an empty seat. William was not with them. She looked around the room and he was nowhere to be seen, an odd feeling, one she had not been expecting crept up inside her and she realized she was disappointed. The rest of her day went by as a normal school day should; in fact the rest of the week went by much the same as this day had. Mia could not help but wonder if she had completely imagined William even existed.


	3. Chapter Three Reflections

**Saturday September 16****th****, 2000**

The rest of the week went by quietly, William never returned to school and Mia began to believe she had just imagined him. She started her day in the shower; the hot water helped wake her up. After she was dressed she dried her hair and went downstairs to watch some TV. It was early so the only thing on TV was infomercials, she stopped on one that was selling some kitchen appliance that no one needed but everyone wanted. After the third time of seeing how fast it could chop an onion she flipped the TV back off and went upstairs to her room. She turned on her computer and checked her new email; of course no one had her email address so there were no emails to read.

Mia thought about her home, she began to miss her room, the place she grew up. In an attempt to distract her from the good memories she knew lead to the bad one's she clicked on her favorite search engine and typed in the last name 'Bennet'. Of course without a specific location the search returned more than Mia would have liked, so she refined her search to town where they had their accident, Baltimore, Maryland. The first return was what she was looking for, an article about her family in a local paper.

**Memorial service today for Lancaster family killed in boating accident**

**Saturday September 09, 2000, 7:00 AM**

The bodies of Matthew Bennet (41), his wife Brenda Bennet (40), and their daughter Emily Bennet (18) have not been found. State police announced yesterday that the passengers did not survive.

A memorial service will be held this morning. The family was killed last weekend when their boat capsized during a storm.

Beginning at 11 a.m. at the family's church in Caldwell, speakers will pay tribute to the family.

"It's shaken the community," said former neighbor, Deborah Market. Today's service will allow congregants to "pause and grieve."

Mia wondered if he'd been there, if he had the audacity to show his face or if he hid in the shadows like the bloodsucker he was.

Mia had spent most of the morning adjusting things in her room, now that she had spent a full week in it she knew there were some things that needed to be moved around. After she rearranged her room she went downstairs. Her parents were already up, her mom was washing the dishes from breakfast while her dad read the paper.

"Morning," her dad greeted.

"Morning."

"So do you have any plans for today?" her mom asked.

"Nope," Mia replied already bored.

"Well, your father and I are going to the hardware store to get some supplies for the kitchen remodel; I don't suppose you'd like to join us?"

"Hmmm, sounds tempting, but I think I'll pass," she said skirting on sarcasm.

Her dad just chuckled to himself as he handed the paper to Mia. After her parents left Mia sat at the kitchen table and flipped through the paper. She read a few articles but couldn't fight the thoughts that crept into her mind, she started to wonder what was happening back home, if their plan had worked and if she could finally live her life without fear. Frustrated she slammed her hands on the table and stood to find something else to do.

Mia went back upstairs to her room and pulled out the sketchbook she stuffed into her cedar chest. She sat down, and flipped to the first page, the only thing on it was the word 'Remember'. With a deep breath to calm her nerves she turned that page over to reveal a sketch of herself. She knew the whole book was images of her and as she starred at the first one she remembered how she had created it, and why. Her life had been turned upside down and misery had taken over where happiness used to be. She wanted to keep a journal but couldn't bring herself to write the words so she decided on a sketch book. In order to make sense of it she had to start at the beginning, before he entered her life. She remembered the picture she drew this image from, she was in her room with one of her friends and they were listening to music and laughing when her friend snapped this picture. Mia was happy, and unaware of what was about to happen in her life. The next few pages of the sketchbook were similar to the first, copies from pictures, a time when she smiled all the time and laughed at everything. That would change and she knew she was getting closer to that point as she continued to turn the pages.

Distraught and in need of a distraction Mia put down the red sketchbook and pulled a brand new one her parents had bought for her. She just started to draw, not really having anything in mind. For awhile the pencil seemed to move on its own as if it were possessed. When she paused to give her hand a rest and take a look at her creation she realized she had drawn a face, well part of a face. Mia stared at the pair of eyes she had drawn; mesmerized by their depth and beauty, just then she remembered another pair of eyes she had seen recently. She turned the page and started again. As the hours passed Mia had created a number of pieces. When she couldn't hold her pencil any longer she closed the book and contemplated how she could be so interested in someone so dangerous.

Her parents were home by now so she went downstairs to help them with the demolition of the kitchen.

**Sunday September 17****th****, 2000**

The rest of Mia's weekend went somewhat like it started, she continued to check the time imagining what was going on back home. She couldn't sleep so she continued to draw. She found herself glad tomorrow was Monday, hoping for some distraction from her classmates.

William leaned back against the snow bank, letting the dry powder reshape itself around his weight. His skin had cooled to match the air around him, and the tiny pieces of ice felt like velvet on his skin. The sky above him was clear, brilliant with stars, glowing blue in some places, and yellow in others. Exquisitely beautiful, or rather should have been, would have been, if William had been able to really see it. It wasn't getting any better, six days had passed. Six days he'd hidden in the wilderness, but he was no closer to freedom than he had been since the first moment that he had caught her scent.

William reflected as he stared into the night sky, he had never doubted his courage before or his ability to face difficulty, until that horrible hour in a high school art class. He tried to embrace his former self, the man who faced things head on. He found it pleasant to think of himself that way again. As William contemplated this version of himself he began to see himself leaving, being strong enough to go back to the one place he wanted to be. He put his chin on his knees and stared up at the stars again already anxious to be on his way. He knew that Ella would see him coming, that she would tell the others. This would make them happy, Phillip and Katherine especially. William gazed at the stars for one more moment, trying to see past the face in his head. Between him and the brilliant sky a pair of bewildered amber eyes stared back at him. With a heavy sigh, William gave up and got to his feet. If he ran he would be back to Phillip's car in an hour.


	4. Chapter Four Introductions

**Monday September 18****th****, 2000**

"It's going to be okay," Ella breathed as they walked into the cafeteria. Elizabeth and Christopher led the way, Christopher looking ridiculously like a body guard in the middle of hostile territory. Elizabeth looked wary, too, but much more irritated than protective.

"Of course it is," William grumbled.

"She's not here yet, but the way she's going to come in… she won't be downwind if we sit in our regular spot." Ella continued.

"Of course we'll sit in our regular spot. Stop it, Ella. You're getting on my nerves, I'll be perfectly fine." William snapped.

Ella blinked and focused on William's face. "Hmm," she said, sounding surprised. "I think your right."

"Of course I am," William muttered.

William hated being the focus of their concern. He felt a sudden sympathy for Wesley, remembering all the times they had hovered protectively over him as he transitioned into their lifestyle. Wesley met Williams glance briefly and smiled.

_Annoying isn't it?_ Wesley thought. William grimaced at him in response.

Today William's nerves were stretched tight, his senses hyper alert. He scanned every sound, every sight, every movement of the air that touched his skin, every thought, especially the thoughts. There was only one sense he refused to use, smell, he didn't breathe. He was expecting to hear more about the Croft's in the thoughts that he sifted through. All day William had been waiting, searching for whichever new acquaintance the new girl might have confided in, but there was nothing. No one noticed them anymore than they had before. Several of them were still thinking of Mia, but instead of finding this utterly boring, William was now fascinated.

"Anything new?" Wesley asked.

"Nothing. She…must not have said anything." William replied.

"Maybe you're not as scary as you think you are," Christopher said, chuckling. "I bet I could have frightened her better than that."

William rolled his eyes as Ella informed the group that Mia was coming into the cafeteria.

Mia entered the lunch room with Mike and Charlotte, as they all got in line for food Mia glanced at the table in the corner out of habit. She froze where she stood when she realized there were five people sitting at the table. Suddenly not hungry Mia grabbed a soda and followed Mike and Charlotte to their table with her eyes on the floor. She sipped her soda slowly, her stomach churning.

William tried to keep his attention on his family, a grin fixated on his face. He could hear Charlotte's impatience with the new girl, who seemed to be distracted, too. He saw in Charlotte's thoughts that Mia's cheeks were once more colored bright pink with blood. William could hear Mike's thoughts, he didn't like the way they wrapped around the girl, the flicker of already established fantasies that clouded his mind while he watched her.

Mia did not look away from her table for the rest of the hour. When the lunch hour was up, William stayed in his seat.

"I…think its okay," Ella said, hesitant. "Your mind is set. I think you'll make it through the hour." But Ella knew well how fast a mind could change.

"Why push it, William?" Wesley asked. "Go home, take it slow."

"What's the big deal?" Christopher disagreed. "Either he will or he won't kill her. Might as well get it over with, either way."

"I don't want to move yet," Elizabeth complained. "I don't want to start over. We're almost out of high school, Christopher, finally."

William was torn on the decision; he wanted badly to face this head on rather than running away again. But he didn't want to push himself too far, either. He didn't want to uproot his family, knowing none of them would thank him for that. But he realized he wanted to go to class, he wanted to see her face again. It was his curiosity that decided for him.

"Go to class," William ordered, pushing away from the table.

William took one last deep breath at the door of the classroom, and then held it in his lungs as he walked into the small warm space. He was not late; Mrs. DeSimone was still setting up for today's class. Mia sat at their table, her face down staring at the doodle she was drawing. William approached, examining the sketch; he pulled his chair out loudly to announce his presence. Mia noticed but did not look up.

"Hello," William said in a quiet voice he used to make humans more comfortable, forming a polite smile with his lips.

Mia looked up, startled, almost bewildered. She noticed that William was sitting as far away from her as the desk would allow but that his chair was angled towards her. He looked like he had just finished a commercial for hair gel. Her eyes were full of questions; it was this same expression that had obstructed William's vision just yesterday.

As William stared into Mia's amber eyes, he realized the hate he'd somehow imagined the girl deserved for simply existing, had evaporated.

"My name is William Croft," he said, though he knew she knew that. "I didn't have a chance to introduce myself last week. You must be Mia Russo."

Mia's head was spinning with confusion. _Why is he speaking to me,_ she wondered. She realized she needed to respond but was at a loss for words and blurted out the first thing that came to her mind.

"How do you know my name?" Mia demanded unable to hide the shake in her voice.

"Oh I think everyone knows your name," William replied. "The whole town's been waiting for you to arrive."

Mia frowned at this information; she hated the thought of being the center of attention. Thankfully, Mrs. DeSimone started class at that moment. Mia tried to concentrate, wishing she could just relax and enjoy her one interest.

"You should find the supplies you need on your tables, so go ahead and get started; I'll be around to help." Mrs. DeSimone commanded.

It was then that Mia finally noticed the stack of paper and box of colored pencils in the middle of their desk. She smiled slightly, she had no idea what she was supposed to be drawing but she liked using colored pencils.

"Ladies first," William offered. He pushed the supplies towards her.

Mia was caught off guard by the crooked smile on William's face. She reached for the pencils, glancing around to see what everyone was drawing. _Still life,_ she thought as she followed everyone's gaze towards a stack of miscellaneous objects in the center of the room. She would have to turn her back on William to draw, thinking of her parents and what they had been through she became angry with him. _Why did he have to come back?_ She thought to herself.

William was having a bigger problem than the new look of anger on Mia's face, he was out of breath. He leaned as far away from her as he could without moving his seat, twisting his head towards the window. He braced himself, locking his muscles into place, and then sucked in one quick chest-full of air through his mouth. It was genuinely painful, William could not smell her but he could taste her. His throat was suddenly in flames; he gritted his teeth and tried to compose himself.

Slowly Mia turned her seat towards the center of the room so she could work, watching William through the corner of her eye. Once she was in a good position she completely forgot about the person sitting just a few feet away from her. She loved drawing; it was the one thing she still had that brought her peace. As her pencil started to move she became the only person in the room.

William was now completely distracted by Mia, her hands moving fluidly over the paper. _She's talented,_ he thought to himself, as he watched her create a perfect replication of the objects she saw. It was Mike's thoughts that interrupted William's trance.

_Wish he'd stayed wherever he went_, Mike thought, scowling at William. William hadn't realized that Mike harbored any ill will towards him. What was even more interesting to William was that the feeling was mutual. William looked towards Mia again; it wasn't that he couldn't see what Mike was going on about. She was actually rather pretty…in an unusual way. Better than being beautiful, her face was interesting. It was her eyes that held Williams curiosity, brimming over with silent secrets. As William watched Mia he recognized the fascination growing inside of him. He wanted to know more about her, her life before she came here, all the meaningless details that would explain her character.

Absentmindedly, Mia tossed her thick hair just as William took another breath. A particularly concentrated wave of her scent hit the back of his throat. It was like the first day, like the wrecking ball. The pain of the burning dryness made him dizzy. As soon as the bell sounded William fled the classroom, gasping at the clean wet air, putting as much distance as he could between them.

The rest of Mia's day went by as she expected, as it had most of last week. She was getting used to seeing the Crofts, although she was still a little confused as to why William was speaking to her in class today. She didn't see him again until after school was let out.

William had run to his car again, hid, again. Like an addict he found himself searching through the thoughts emanating from the school building. He tried to convince himself he wasn't spying on her, but rather preparing, he didn't want her to take him by surprise.

Mia walked slowly to her car, pulling her hood up as her mouth turned down at the corners, she really did hate the rain. She got into her little silver car, turned it on and put her hands up to the vents in an attempt to warm them. She took a quick look around before she started to back out of her spot and stopped when she noticed the still white figure. He was leaning against his car staring at her; they locked eyes for a moment. Mia was out of the parking lot and on the road before she realized she had stopped breathing again.

William was not thirsty, but as a precaution he decided to hunt again. Phillip joined him; they hadn't been alone together since William had returned. As they ran through the forest William could hear Phillip's thoughts about his hasty goodbye last week. In his memory William could see the way his features had been twisted in despair; he could feel his fathers surprise and sudden worry.

_William?_

_ I have to go Phillip, I have to go now._

_ What's happened?_

_ Nothing, yet, but it will if I stay._

_ I don't understand._

_ Have you ever…Has there ever been a time…Has any one person ever smelled better to you than the rest of them, much better?_

_ Oh… Do what you must to resist son. I will miss you._

Phillip was wondering if he had done the right thing, sending William away, wondering if he had hurt him with his lack of trust.

"No," William whispered as they ran. "That was what I needed."

"I'm sorry you are suffering William. But you must do what is necessary to keep the child alive. Even if that means leaving us again."

"I know, I know"

Phillip had stopped running to examine William's expression.

_But you're not going to run, are you?_ Phillip thought.

William hung his head.

_Is it pride, William? There's no shame in…_

"No it isn't pride that keeps me here. Not now."

"What holds you here William, I'm failing to see…" Phillip asked.

"I don't know if I can explain it." William replied

_Well I will respect your privacy, if you prefer._

"Thank you."

It was colder when they had returned. William stayed by the river, waiting for the sun to rise. _Phillip is right;_ he thought to himself, _I should leave._ William imagined Mia's life, she would go off to college somewhere, get older, start a career, perhaps marry someone. He could picture it; he could see her dressed all in white. He found it odd the pain that image caused him.

As the sun rose behind the clouds William returned home to put on a fresh change of clothes.


	5. Chapter Five Realizing

**Tuesday September 19****th****, 2000**

When Mia opened her eyes in the morning she could tell something was different, it was the light. She could tell that it was brighter, that the fog had lifted. Surprisingly eager to get to school, Mia admitted only to herself that she was excited to see William. _Moron,_ she thought to herself.

The first thing William did when he reached school was look for Mia, trying to convince himself that he was just trying to be prepared. He was embarrassed to reveal that his entire world had suddenly become empty of everything, but her. Mia had not yet arrived, so William leaned against the side of his car to wait. Ella stayed with him while the others went to class. The girl drove slowly into view, eyes intent on something else and parked not far from William.

Mia was completely preoccupied with her thoughts as she made her way across the parking lot.

"NO!" Ella gasped aloud.

Instantly William scanned her thoughts. The vision came just half a second before the reality.

Mia was making her way to her first class when she met Williams gaze, she was startled by the look on his face. Suddenly an adrenaline rush seemed to make her brain work much faster, and she was able to absorb in clear detail several things at once. William was standing several cars down from her, staring at her in horror. But more importantly there was a large truck headed straight for her.

_Not her!_ The words shouted in Williams head as if they belonged to someone else. William launched himself across the lot, throwing himself into Mia. She couldn't have seen him; no human eyes could have followed his flight.

Something hit Mia, hard, but not from the direction she was expecting. Something, rather someone, solid and cold was pinning her to the ground.

William had caught her around the waist, moving with too much urgency to be gentle and pushed her out of the way. The trucks brakes squealed as the driver realized how close he came to hitting someone. It was Sam, shaken and worried; he put his truck in park and jumped out.

"Holy Shit! Mia… William are you guys okay?" Sam gasped.

Mia glanced up at William who was still holding her to the ground and turned to sit up.

"Yeah, Sam, we're fine." Mia whispered, never looking away from William.

Sam ignored her, "I didn't see you… And then… I thought… I was going to kill you!"

William was too anxious to really care about the threat of exposure his little stunt may have provided. He was too mesmerized with her eyes, he was too frightened to have her this close to him, too aware of the heat her soft body was producing. William leaned down to examine Mia's face.

"Mia?" William asked urgently. "Are you sure you're all right?"

"I'm fine," She said, noticing his concern.

Mia tried to stand but William protested.

"Be careful," he warned as she struggled.

"I mean it, I'm fine," Mia insisted.

Not quite convinced, William helped Mia to her feet, keeping a close eye to make sure she wasn't unsteady. Once he saw she was balanced he stepped away, he needed to breathe. Mia was distracted by her classmates, who had now surrounded her to make sure she was okay. Sam was bellowing out apologies and explanations in an attempt to make up for almost squishing her.

"Mia, I am so sorry…" Sam pleaded. "I didn't see you… or William." He turned to apologize to William. "Man I am so sorry, dude. I dropped a CD and when I looked back up…"

William held his hand out in protest. "No blood, no foul." He tried to ignore Sam for a moment to get his priorities in order. Mia was fine, now he had to clean up the mess he made. He searched through every mind in the lot, the witnesses and latecomers, and found nothing dangerous. Many were surprised to see him standing beside Mia but all concluded that they had just not noticed him before the accident. He became confidant that Mia was too traumatized by the event to believe anything different. William winced when he caught his family's thoughts as they arrived on the scene. He would pay for this later.

The parking lot was full, everyone crowding around Mia to make sure she was okay. It was quite unpleasant for her as she fought through the crowd trying her hardest to convince them she was fine. It was Charlotte who insisted she go to the nurse. For selfish reasons of course, Charlotte liked all the attention and wanted to know what it was like to have William save her life. _Man why couldn't that have been me,_ she wished to herself.

Disgusted by her selfish motives and insane fantasies William intercepted Mia from Charlotte.

"I'll take her," William whispered to Charlotte in his soft persuasive tone.

"Oh, yeah, okay, sure," Was all Charlotte could say. _So hot!_

Mia accepted Williams escort, weary but curious. _What just happened? Did he just save my life? _She questioned, as they walked to the nurses office. William kept pace with her as they entered the nurse's office. The elderly nurse looked up surprised as William explained what had happened.

"Oh dear, please sit down, did either of you hit your head, does anything hurt?" The nurse fused over Mia first, making her feel ridiculous.

"No, really, I'm fine," Mia pressed. She was beginning to get annoyed by the fact that all the attention was on her. She knew that William was fine and that he could easily convince anyone of that but she was okay too and was tired of all the focus being on her. William sensed Mia's frustration and stifled a laugh. Just then the door swung open and Mrs. Johnson came rushing in to get the full report of what had happened and if anyone had been hurt.

"Mia! Oh, my, are you alright, what happened?"

William became tense as he waited for Mia to answer.

"Um…" She hesitated, glancing briefly at William. "I saw the truck coming towards me and then William pulled me out of the way." She gestured towards William in an attempt to make his presence known to Mrs. Johnson.

William exhaled, his breathing began to accelerate he had never heard her speak his name before. He liked the way it sounded.

Mrs. Johnson nodded along with Mia's story, worry in her eyes. "Would you like me to call your parents, dear?"

"No! No, really I'm fine, I would actually just like to go to class" Mia was on her feet now, anxious to leave.

William noticed the intensity of her reaction and wondered why she was so adamant about going to class. _Most humans would take the opportunity for a day off,_ he thought. William's thoughts were interrupted by Mrs. Johnson's praise. She had turned her attention to him and commended William for being so heroic.

_Heroic, huh,_ William pondered this for a moment. Somewhere during that short thoughtless second when he'd sprinted across the parking lot, he had transformed from killer to protector. He laughed to himself when he remembered not too long ago being sure that Mia would never need protecting from anything more than himself.

The door to the nurse's office opened again, this time it was Sam, followed by a small group of students who wanted to make sure Mia was alright. William saw this as his chance to exit; he slid out the door while everyone was focused on Mia.

Sam approached Mia with his shoulders hunched in regret, he continued to apologize. Mia just put her hand up to stop him. William scanned the thoughts of the people still in the nurse's office to make sure his exit had gone unnoticed and stopped when he heard Sam.

_Huh. That's weird. I didn't see Croft near Mia, I could have sworn… Wow, it was all so fast, I guess. I hope he's okay. _William was surprised to hear Sam's concern for his well-being but relieved to see that everyone believed he was standing near Mia. He continued to listen to Sam, as his thoughts turned to Mia. _Yeah, she's pretty. I think I should take her out, make up for today, screw Mike, he's taking to long anyway. _William was turned around and on his way back to the nurse's office before he realized what he was doing, stopping himself, he ducked into a corner and tried to get a grip.

_It doesn't matter that Sam thinks she's pretty, anyone would see that… _ _There is no reason for me to feel…annoyed? Angry? No that doesn't make sense. _William stood there trying to figure out how he felt.

After her hundredth attempt to convince everyone she was fine, Mrs. Johnson and the nurse allowed Mia to go to class, under the condition that her fellow classmates keep an eye on her. _Great, babysitters,_ Mia scoffed to herself. Glad to be out of the spotlight for now, Mia took a moment to examine the situation. First and most important was that no one was hurt, least of all William. She had convinced Mrs. Johnson not to call her parents, so she didn't have to worry about explaining her savoir. Unfortunately she did have to deal with the assigned babysitters who were already annoying her, and then of course she needed to figure out why William did what he did.

_He was at least four cars away from me…_ Mia remembered. _All this effort to blend in why would he risk exposing himself to save me? _She continued to question William's 'heroic' act as she walked to class, followed by Mike and Charlotte, her assigned sitters. _His family, their expressions ranged from disapproval to fury…_Mia tried to think of a logical solution that could explain what she had just experienced.

When William entered his first class he was approached by his teacher.

"William, I'm surprised to see you, I heard you were involved in an accident this morning?"

"Everyone's fine," William snapped. "It wasn't that big of a deal."

"Oh… Well that's good to hear." His teacher replied clearing his throat to begin his lecture.

After 1st period, William saw Christopher waiting for him.

_I hope you have a good explanation for what happened today, Lizzy's on the war path._

William rolled his eyes without looking at his brother. Actually he had come up with a perfectly sound explanation for his behavior. If he hadn't done anything, he recoiled at the thought; Mia would have been mangled and bleeding. The red fluid spilling onto the blacktop, fresh blood pulsing through the air, he would not have been able to restrain himself and would have exposed them all in a much more shocking way. It was a perfectly good excuse, but William would not use it, he was too ashamed by its accuracy.

_Look out for Wesley,_ Christopher continued, oblivious to William's trance. _He's not as angry… but he's more decided._

William saw what Christopher was talking about, and for a moment the hallway swam around him. His rage became all consuming that he thought he would choke on it.

_GET A GRIP WILLIAM!_ Christopher shouted at him in his head. _EASY!_ He ordered. _Wesley's not going to do anything until we talk, I just thought you should know the direction he's headed. Damn kid you're a mess, _Christopher added, sympathy in his tone.

"Bite me," William muttered under his breath, causing Christopher to chuckle. William skipped the rest of the day; he would wait to face his family & Mia later.

Mia spent the rest of her day telling people she was fine, struggling to keep her annoyance in check. She noticed William's absence from lunch and then again in class, this didn't help her confusion. She couldn't wait for the day to be over; she wanted nothing more than to be alone.

Christopher walked silently with William to the car when the last bell rang. He was worrying about William and Elizabeth. He knew whose side he would have to choose and it bothered him. The others were waiting for them in the car, silent, only William could hear the shouting.

_Idiot! Lunatic! Moron! Jackass! Selfish, irresponsible fool!_ Elizabeth kept up a constant stream of insults at the top of her mental lungs. Christopher was right about Wesley, he had made his decision. Ella was worried about Wesley. No matter which direction Wesley went towards Mia, Ella could see William there, blocking him.

_Stop that William! It can't happen this way, I won't let it._ Ella screamed in her head. William did not answer her.

The entire way home the charged silence did not lift. William parked in the big garage and was pleased to see that Phillip was home, he knew this silence would end explosively and he wanted his father there when it happened. They all went straight to the dining room. The room was, of course, never used for its intended purpose. But sometimes it was necessary to discuss things in a calm, seated manner.

Phillip sat in his usual seat, Katherine was beside him. Katherine's eyes were on William, full of concern, her only thought was, _stay. _William sat on the other side of Phillip. As everyone else sat you could see the lines being drawn. Elizabeth sat directly across from Phillip, never looking away from William. Christopher sat beside her. Wesley hesitated and then stood against the wall behind Elizabeth; he was decided, regardless of the outcome of this conversation. Ella was the last one in, without thinking about it, she sat beside Katherine.

William took a deep breath to begin, "I'm sorry." He paused to look at each of them. "I did not mean to put any of you at risk. It was thoughtless and I take full responsibility for my hasty action."

Elizabeth glared at him. "What do you mean 'take full responsibility'? Are you going to fix it?"

"Not the way you mean," William replied. "I'm willing to leave now, if that makes things better."

"No," Katherine murmured. "No, William."

"It's just a few years." William replied, trying to sooth his mother's worry.

"Katherine's right," Christopher said. "You can't go anywhere now. That would be the opposite of helpful. We have to know what people are thinking, now more than ever."

"Ella will catch anything major," William disagreed.

Phillip shook his head. "I think Christopher's right William. The girl will be more likely to talk if you suddenly disappear. It's all of us or none of us."

Elizabeth's palm smacked down on the table with a loud bang. "We can't allow the girl a chance to say anything. Even if we decided to all disappear, it's not safe to leave stories behind us. We live so differently from the rest of our kind; you know there are some who are just waiting for the chance to point fingers. We have to be more careful than anyone else!"

"We've left rumors behind us before," William reminded her.

"Just rumors and suspicions, not eyewitnesses! This doesn't have to be a big production, every human goes to sleep with the chance of never waking up."

"Elizabeth, this girl is innocent." Phillip said.

"Its not personal Phillip," Elizabeth said through her teeth. "It's to protect us all."

Phillip nodded, "I know you mean well Elizabeth, but… I'd like very much for our family to be worth protecting. We risk loosing the essence of who we are by murdering an innocent child in cold blood."

Elizabeth scowled. "It's just being responsible."

"It's being callous," Phillip corrected.

Elizabeth sighed heavily and her lower lip pouted out.

"The question," Phillip continued, "is whether we should move on?"

"No," Elizabeth moaned, "we just got settled; I don't want to start on my sophomore year of high school all over again."

"Well, we certainly don't have to decide now. We can wait and see if it becomes necessary." Phillip replied.

William was no longer worried about Elizabeth; he could see that she would go along with Phillip's decision. Wesley on the other hand remained unyielding.

"Wesley," William said. Wesley met William's gaze, expressionless. "She won't pay for my mistake. I won't allow it."

"She benefits from it then? She should have died today, William, I would only be setting that right."

William repeated himself, emphasizing each word. "I will not allow it."

Wesley's eyebrows shot up, he wasn't expecting this reaction, he had not imagined that William would ever try to stop him. He shook his head, "I won't let Ella live in danger, even slight danger. You don't feel about anyone the way I feel about her, you don't understand."

"I'm not disputing that Wesley, but I'm telling you now, I won't allow you to hurt Mia."

"Wes," Ella interrupted.

William saw what was in Ella's mind and his mouth fell open with an audible gasp. He stared at her, shocked, only vaguely aware that everyone besides Ella and Wesley was now eyeing him.

Ella spoke directly to Wesley, "I know you love me, but I would really appreciate it if you didn't try to kill Mia. First of all, William's serious and I don't want you two fighting. Secondly, she's my friend. At least she's going to be."

"But…Ella…" Wesley gasped.

"I'm going to love her someday Wesley, and I will be very displeased with you if you don't let her be."

Wesley's determination floundered in the face of Ella's unexpected request. His indecision had cleared a new future.

"See? Mia's not going to say anything. There's nothing to worry about." Ella said confidently.

"Ella," William choked. "What…does this…?"

Suddenly Ella locked her jaw; she was trying not to think about something. She focused very hard on Wesley; she did this sometimes when she was trying to keep things from William.

"What Ella? What are you hiding?"

She shook her head, trying not to let William in.

"Is it about the girl," William demanded. "Is it about Mia?"

Ella had her teeth gritted in concentration but when William spoke Mia's name, she slipped. Her slip only lasted the tiniest portion of a second, but it was long enough.

"NO!" William shouted, throwing his chair to the floor as he jumped to his feet.

"William!" Phillip was on his feet with his hand on William's shoulder.

"It's solidifying," Ella whispered. "Every minute you're more decided. There's really only two ways left for her. It's one or the other, William."

"Will somebody please let the rest of us in on the mystery?" Christopher complained.

"I have to leave," William whispered to Ella, ignoring Christopher.

"I don't see you going anywhere William," Ella said. "I don't know if you can leave anymore." _Think about it,_ she added silently. _Think about leaving._

"Why are you doing this to me?" William groaned as his head fell into his hands.

_I love her too. Or I will._ Ella thought.

"Love her…too?" William whispered.

Ella sighed. _You are so blind, William. Can't you see where you're headed? Can't you see where you already are?_

William shook his head, horrified. "No." He tried to shut out the visions Ella revealed to him. "I don't have to follow that course. I'll leave. I'll change the future."

"You can try," Ella said her voice skeptical.

"Oh come on!" Christopher bellowed.

"Pay attention," Elizabeth hissed at him. "Ella sees William falling for that girl."

"What?" Christopher said startled. Then his booming laugh echoed through the house. "Tough break, William."

"Fall for a human?" Katherine repeated in a stunned voice. "For the girl he saved today? Fall in love with her?"

"What do you see Ella? Exactly," Wesley demanded.

"It all depends on whether he is strong enough or not. Either he'll kill her himself," She turned to meet Williams gaze, "which would really irritate me, William, not to mention what it would do to you," then she turned back to face Wesley, "or she'll be one of us someday."

"That's not going to happen!" William was shouting again. "Either one!"

Ignoring him Ella continued, "It all depends, he may be strong enough not to kill her, but it will be close. It will take an amazing amount of control. The only thing he's not strong enough to do is stay away from her, that's a lost cause."

The room was still, William stared at Ella and everyone else stared at William. After a long moment, Phillip sighed.

"Well this…complicates things. But I suppose our plans remain the same. We'll stay and watch and obviously no one will harm the girl."

Wesley nodded, "I will agree to that, if Ella only sees those two ways…"

"No!" William's voice was a combination of shout, a growl, and a cry of despair. "No!"

William had to leave, to get away from the noise of their thoughts. Elizabeth's self righteous disgust, Christopher's humor, Phillips never ending patience… Worse Ella's confidence or Wesley's confidence in her confidence, but worst of all, Katherine's joy. William stalked out of the room and was running before he was out of the house. He raced through the forest until he was all alone. Finally he made himself look at what he had done, a mutilated future.

Ella's first vision, clear as day, Ella was smiling with her pale white arm around Mia's fragile waist. Mia was smiling, too, her arm around Ella's shoulders. The trust of friendship was so obvious it shouted from the image. _What did this mean? How much did she know? But more importantly what did she think of me?_ William questioned to himself.

Then the second image, so much the same just colored differently. Ella and Mia, their arms still wrapped around each other in trusting friendship, but now there was no difference between those arms, Mia's face, cold and immortal. William shuddered, _what did this mean? How did this happen and what did she think of me now? _William answered the last question, _she hated me…_

But there was one more horrifying image, worse than any image William had ever held in his head. His own eyes, deep crimson with human blood, the eyes of the monster. Mia's broken body in his arms, drained, lifeless. William couldn't stand to see this; he tried to banish it from his head to no avail. He writhed in agony.

_There has to be another way,_ William insisted.

Mia decided to go to bed early that night. She was sore from the hard hit she took from William so she took some Advil and drifted to sleep. This was the first night she dreamt of William Croft.

Mia opened her eyes, conscious in some fashion that she was dreaming, and found herself in a giant field. She did not recognize the field but knew that she was still in High Point, thanks to the woods surrounding her. She was not alone; she could smell the sweet smell she had grown too loath, she scanned the field and stopped when she saw William. Rage in his eyes, he let out a growl in protest, yet he wasn't looking at her. She followed his line of site to another figure in the field. It was him, his blond spiked hair, his blood red eyes, that villainous smile creeping up the corners of his mouth, there was no doubt it was him. Mia gasped at the site of him.

"Hello, Emily, miss me?" He snarled, glancing for a split second in her direction.

"How did you find me?" Mia whimpered in response.

"Mia get out of here!" William hissed, still glaring at his adversary.

Mia watched as William and his opponent dropped down into a crotched position. She had seen this before, they were about to attack. William launched himself across the space between them, pushing Mia out of the way. She hit the ground harder than she expected, when she looked up she saw him soar towards William, teeth exposed in pure fury, just as the two collided Mia screamed, wrenching herself upright in bed.

"No!"

Still shaken by fear she scrambled to turn on the light in her room. She sat on her bed, shaking from the after shock of her dream. She looked at the clock, it was a quarter to five, and she knew sleep was no longer an option. She laid back and covered her face with her pillow, eyes burning from the lack of sleep and sudden adjustment to light, muscles tight from the adrenaline surging through her body. Unconsciously she began to cry, slow and painful; the tears burned her cheeks as they flowed down them. _Why am I crying?_ She thought to herself. She couldn't understand her reaction, she was exhausted and her body ached for sleep but her mind wouldn't allow it. So she sat up and decided to start her day, however early it was.


	6. Chapter Six Playing With Fate

**Wednesday September 20****th****, 2000**

To Mia's dismay, she had become the center of attention for the rest of that week. Sam was impossible, following her around, obsessed with making amends to her somehow. She wanted nothing more than to be forgotten at this point and had wished she could have shared some of this attention with William. But no one seemed interested in his firsthand account. People avoided him and his family as usual.

William never glanced at Mia and when they had class together he seemed totally unaware of her presence. He was doing everything correctly now; to please Katherine and protect the others he stayed in High Point. He hunted no more than the rest of them, and everyday he went to school and played human. Everyday he listened carefully for anything new about the Croft's but the girl only repeated the same story over and over. There was no danger.

William was determined to change the future, he would prove Ella wrong. Neither William nor Mia spoke to each another again. Everyday after school William would run, he felt better when he was flying over the ground. He was not convinced that he loved her, although he admitted to himself how easy it would be to do so. It was not letting himself fall in love with her that was difficult, but he was determined.

**Friday September 22****nd****, 2000**

Avoiding Mia was about the limit of what William could bare. He could pretend to ignore her, and never look her way. He could pretend that she was of no interest to him, but that was the extent, just pretense not reality. He still hung on every breath she took and every word she spoke. He could see she was unusually excited today, he longed to know why.

William lumped his torments into four groups, his first two were similar, his thirst and his curiosity. The thirst was the most primal torment. Each time he tasted the air around her, it was the same as the first day, fire and a need for brutal violence. The curiosity was the most constant of his torments. He never stopped wondering what she was thinking. But it was Mike who was the most surprising of William's torments. He would never have imagined that such a boring, generic mortal could be so infuriating. And finally the last of William's torment, the most painful was Mia's indifference to him. As he ignored her, she ignored him. For all William knew she never thought of him again.

**Tuesday October 10****th****, 2000**

More than two weeks had passed, and every day it got harder for William. He was still determined not to interfere with Mia's life, if he was destined to love her he felt the very least he could do was avoid her. Mia and her parents had settled in nicely to their new lives, everyday it got easier and easier and for the first time in a long time Mia could see a brighter future on the horizon.

Although he didn't, William should have felt some gratitude towards Mike. Out of all of them he kept Mia talking the most. William learned so much about her through these conversations, but Mike's assistance only aggravated him. He didn't want Mike to be the one to unlock Mia's secrets, William wanted to do that. It helped that Mike never noticed her little slips; Mike had created a Mia in his head that did not exist, a girl just as generic as he was. Mike hadn't noticed the unselfishness and bravery that set Mia apart from others. He didn't hear the abnormal maturity in her spoken thoughts or the patience when she feigned interest in his rambling stories, and didn't guess at the kindness behind that patience.

Through her conversations with Mike, William was able to compile a list of Mia's qualities. She was kind and modest, unselfish, loving and brave, all adding up to a very simple description. Mia was good, through and through.

These helpful discoveries did not warm William to Mike. The possessive way Mike viewed Mia, as if she were an acquisition to be made, provoked William almost as much as his crude fantasies did. He would routinely sit on her side of their table before class began, chattering at her, encouraged by her smiles. William amused himself by imagining backhanding Mike across the room and into the far wall. _It probably wouldn't injure him fatally… _he thought to himself.

It was Charlotte who made Mia aware of an event looming on the horizon. She called her that night to ask her if she was planning on going to the Homecoming game next week, and if anyone had asked her to the dance yet. Aware that Charlottes question was more about whether Mike had asked her, Mia did her best to assure Charlotte she was not interested in Mike without making it obvious.

"No, no ones asked me." Mia said nonchalantly. "I'm not planning on going, actually."

"Really?" Charlotte asked half hearted. "It's going to be a lot of fun."

Mia suspected that Charlotte enjoyed her inexplicable popularity more than her actual company.

"Yeah, I'm going to be out of town. You'll have to tell me all about it when I get back." Mia encouraged.


	7. Chapter Seven Falling

**Wednesday October 11****th****, 2000**

Mia was surprised that Charlotte was not her usual gushing self. She was silent as they walked between classes and Mia was afraid to ask her why. If Mike hadn't asked her yet, Mia was the last person she would want to talk to about it. Mia's fears were strengthened during lunch when Charlotte sat as far away from Mike as possible, chatting with Sam. Mike was unusually quiet.

William was not in a very good mood today, tenser than he let his family see. He knew today would be a hard one, harder than the day before. He was aware that Mike was going to ask Mia on a date.

Mike was working up his nerve as he walked with Mia to art class. William listened to his struggles as he waited for them to arrive. Mike sat down on their table, while William imagined the sound it would make if his body hit the opposite wall with enough force to break most of his bones.

"So," Mike said. "Homecoming's next weekend."

"Oh yeah," Mia answered cautiously. "I bet you're excited about the game."

Taken off guard Mike scrambled for the right response. "Yeah, oh yeah, we're gonna crush 'em."

"Well…" Mike stammered. "I was wondering if you, well… there's a dance after the game and I wondered if you might want to go with me."

Mia hesitated. She hated the wave of guilt that swept through her. Yet she couldn't help but notice from the corner of her eye that William had tilted his head reflexively in her direction.

In that moment of hesitation William saw the future more clearly than Ella ever had. Mia might say yes to Mike's question now, and she might not, but either way, someday soon, she would say yes to someone. She was lovely and intriguing and human males where not oblivious to this fact. Whether she would settle for someone in this lack luster crowd, or wait until she was free of High Point, the day would come that she would say yes.

The pain of this future was more than anything William had ever felt. A human would have to be on the point of death to feel this pain; a human would not live through it. And not just pain, but outright rage. The fury ached for some kind of physical outlet. Though this insignificant undeserving boy might not be the one that Mia would say yes to, William yearned to crush his skull in his hand.

William couldn't understand his emotion; it was a tangled mess of pain, rage, desire and despair. He couldn't put a name to it.

"Mike, I'm not going to the dance." Mia said, in a gentle voice.

Mike's hopes plummeted. William would have enjoyed it under other circumstances, but he was lost in the aftershock of the pain he could not name. _Ella was right, _he thought, _I'm not strong enough._

"Why not?" Mike demanded, glancing at William, suspicious for the first time in weeks.

The wild envy in Mike's thoughts, envy for whomever this girl preferred to him, suddenly put a name to Williams unnamed emotion. He was jealous.

"I'm going to be out of town that Saturday," Mia explained.

"Can't you go some other weekend?" Mike asked his tone almost rude. It offended William that he used this tone with Mia; he had to bite back a growl.

"Sorry, no." Mia was unwavering now.

"Alright," Mike mumbled, and turned, dejected to walk back to his seat. He was so demoralized that William almost felt pity for him, almost.

Mia closed her eyes and pressed her finger tips to her temples, trying to push the guilt out of her head. When Mrs. DeSimone started talking, Mia sighed and opened her eyes.

William was staring at her curiously. Mia stared back, while William tried vainly to read her thoughts through her liquid amber eyes. They were full of questions rather than answers. He could see his reflection in her eyes; he saw the thirst in his black eyes. It had been nearly two weeks since his last hunting trip, not a good time for his will to crumble. But the blackness did not frighten Mia; she did not look away as a soft devastatingly appealing pink began to color her skin.

_What is she thinking?_ William wondered hopelessly. He almost asked the question out loud but Mrs. DeSimone called his name. He picked the answer out of the teachers head and sucked in a quick breath, "Black." This scorched his throat, tightening his muscles and filling his mouth with venom. He closed his eyes trying to concentrate. The monster was stronger than before. The monster was rejoicing, embracing the dual future that gave him a fifty-fifty chance at what he craved. The third, shaky future, William had tried to shape through willpower had crumpled, destroyed by common jealousy, of all things.

The remorse and the guilt burned with the thirst, and if he'd had the ability to produce tears, they would have filled his eyes now. _What have I done?_ William thought. Knowing the battle was already lost, there seemed to be no reason to resist what he wanted, he turned to stare at Mia again.

Mia looked away as soon as William had; cowardly she pulled her hair over her shoulder to hide her face. She couldn't believe the rush of emotion pulsing through her. She couldn't allow him to have this level of influence over her, it was pathetic, but more than pathetic it was dangerous. She had grown used to his silent presence, she knew it was better that way and had worked very hard to repress the feelings of disappointment she had when he suddenly stopped talking to her after the accident. Frustrated that it took only a glance to knock down the wall she had built she tried diligently to ignore his stares.

The brief hour passed to quickly for William. When the bell rang Mia turned her back to William and began gathering her things. This disappointed him, but he could hardly expect otherwise, the way he had ignored her since the near accident was uncalled-for.

"Mia," William said, unable to stop himself.

Mia hesitated to look at him, she turned slowly, unwillingly. She didn't want to feel what she knew she would feel when she looked at him. When she turned her expression was guarded, distrustful. She waited for him to continue but he just stared at her face.

"What?" She finally said.

"I'm sorry," William said sincerely. "I know I've been very rude these last few weeks, but it's better if we're not friends."

Mia cringed unexpectedly to Williams words. "Then why did you waste your time saving my life?" She said angrily. "You could have saved yourself all this remorse if you'd have just stayed out of it."

"Waste my time?" William demanded

"Yeah, if you'd just let the truck hit me you wouldn't have to worry about being 'very rude'." Mia snapped.

William froze, stunned. _How could she be thinking that?_ He thought. Saving her life was the one acceptable thing he had done since he met her. The one thing he was not ashamed of, the one and only thing that made him glad he existed at all.

Mia could tell that her choice in words and her tone had caught him off guard, made him mad. She felt a pang of guilt and turned to leave before she retracted her statement, walking stiffly, and trying desperately to push back the feelings that were flooding her system. No one was there to watch him so William flitted to her side.

"You think I regret saving your life?"

"Sure seems that way." She retorted.

William was seething, "Well than, I'd say you're exceptionally unobservant."

_I'd say I know more than you think I do,_ Mia thought to herself as she wrenched herself away from William and stomped off to her next class.

Christopher and William walked to the parking lot at the end of the day, William still in deep thought. So he proved he could not ignore the girl that much was obvious. But did that mean he had no other choice but to destroy her? _That could not be the only available future, _he thought. There has to be some delicate balance. William wasn't paying too much attention to Christopher, but Christopher was curious, he could see the change in William's mood. Christopher struggled to define the change, and finally decided that he looked hopeful.

William pondered the idea of hope, wondering exactly what he should be hoping for. But he didn't have long to ponder. Sensitive as he was to the thoughts about the girl, the sound of Mia's name in the heads of his…rivals caught his attention. Sam having heard with much satisfaction of Mike's failure was preparing to make his move. William had to see this.

"Wait for the others here, all right?" William murmured to Christopher.

Christopher shrugged and nodded, _kids lost his mind,_ he thought, amused by William's odd request.

Mia got into her car and was reversing into the aisle when she saw William pulling out smoothly in front of her, cutting her off. He stopped there, to wait for his family, Mia could see them making their way but they were still a ways off. William watched her in his rearview mirror. _What is he doing?_ Mia thought, frustrated with the hold up.

Sam hurried to his car and got in line behind Mia. He waited a moment, and then left his car, sauntering up to her window. He tapped on the glass. Mia jumped and then rolled down her window.

"I'm sorry Sam, I'm stuck behind William." She said, her voice irritated.

"Oh I know," Sam said, undeterred by her mood. "I just wanted to ask you something while we're trapped here." He grinned.

_This cannot be happening,_ Mia thought.

"Will you go with me to the Homecoming dance?" He asked.

"I'm not going to be in town," She told him.

"Yeah, Mike said that."

"Then why?" She stared at him.

He shrugged, "I was just hoping you were letting him down easy."

"Sorry." She said, not sounding sorry at all.

"That's cool, we still have prom." He replied, his self assurance untouched.

Before Mia could respond Sam strutted back to his car, she could feel the shock on her face; William was elated he had stayed to watch. The horrified expression on her face was priceless. It told William what he should not need to know, that she had no feelings for any of the human males that wished to court her. Also her expression was possibly the funniest thing he'd ever seen. The rest of William's family arrived then, confused by the fact that he was laughing rather than scowling.

_What's so funny?_ Christopher wanted to know.

"Let's go!" Elizabeth hissed impatiently. "Stop being an idiot, if you can!"

Her words didn't annoy William, he was too entertained. But he did as she asked. No one spoke on the way home; however, William continued to chuckle now and then when he thought of Mia's face. It was Ella who ruined William's good mood.

"So do I get to talk to Mia now?" She asked suddenly.

"No!" William snapped

"Not fair! What am I waiting for?"

"I haven't decided anything, Ella."

"Whatever, William."

When Mia got home she was fuming over the site of William laughing at her. When the phone rang it took her by surprise, it was Charlotte, she was ecstatic. Mike had caught her after school and asked her to Homecoming. Mia celebrated with her briefly. Charlotte had to go, she wanted to call Melissa and tell her the good news. After she hung up Mia tried to concentrate on making dinner. Her head was spinning trying to analyze every word William had spoken to her today. She agreed that they shouldn't be friends but why did he get so angry and why did she feel guilty…

The others were scheduled to hunt tomorrow, but William couldn't afford to be thirsty now. He overdid it, he was so full now he was uncomfortable, but he knew it wouldn't be enough, her scent was stronger than anything else. When he was done it was still several hours before the sun would rise, he had been preparing for the next day, but it seemed that it wasn't coming fast enough.

A jittery high swept through him when he realized he was going to find the girl. He argued with himself the whole way, but his less noble side won the argument, and he went ahead with his indefensible plan. He only wanted to know where she was, he would keep a safe distance, he just wanted to see her face.

It was past midnight and Mia's house was dark and quiet. Her car was parked against the curb her parents cars in the driveway. There were no conscious thoughts in the neighborhood. He watched the house for a moment from the blackness of the forest that bordered it. Assuming the front door would be locked he decided to try an upstairs window first, not many people would bother locking them. He crossed the open yard and scaled the face of the house in half a second. Dangling from the eave above the window, he looked through the glass, his breath stopped.

It was her room. He could see her on the bed, her blanket twisted around her legs. She twitched restlessly, as he watched. She did not sleep soundly; William was repulsed by himself as he watched her toss again. _How am I better than some sick peeping tom?_ He thought_. I'm not, I'm much much worse. _He allowed himself one last look at her face before he relaxed his fingers to let himself drop. It was not peaceful, a little furrow between her eyes, her lips turned down, they trembled and then parted.

"Wait," She muttered.

Mia talked in her sleep. William's curiosity flared, overpowering his self disgust. The lure of those unprotected, unconsciously spoken words were impossibly tempting. He tried the window, it was not locked. He eased himself silently through the half opened window. Her room was small and clean. There was a stack of CD's lying next to her stereo; the one on top was homemade. Her sketch book was on the floor, pieces of paper shoved inside as if done in a hurry, her pencils neatly placed on her desk. A few pairs of shoes dotted the floor. William wanted desperately to flip through her sketch book, but he'd promised himself he would keep his distance, instead, he went to sit on a wooden chest in the far corner of her room.

_Did I really ever think her average looking?_ William thought to himself. He thought of that first day, and his disgust for the boys who were so immediately intrigued with her. But when he remembered her face in their minds now, he could not understand why he had not found her beautiful immediately. It seemed obvious now. Right now, with her dark hair tangled and wild around her face, wearing a thin green tank top with black sweatpants, her features relaxed in unconsciousness, her full lips slightly parted, she took his breath away. Or would have, if he'd been breathing.

"William," Mia said.

He froze staring at her unopened eyes.

Mia sighed and then rolled to her side, still fast asleep and dreaming.

"William," She mumbled softly.

_She's dreaming of me…_ William thought in amazement.

"Its okay," She sighed. "It's okay…"

William struggled to find words to name the feelings that flooded through him, but there were no words strong enough to hold them. He drowned in them. When he surfaced he was not the same man.

His life had been an unending, unchanging midnight, how could it be possible that the sun was rising right there in the middle of his midnight. At the time that William had become a vampire he had truly been frozen. His body and his self had been frozen as it was, his personality, likes, dislikes, moods, and desires, all were fixed in place. When change came for one of them, it was rare and permanent. William had seen it happen to Phillip and then later with Elizabeth. Love had changed them in an eternal way, a way that never faded. It would always be that way for them, and now for William too. He would always love this fragile human girl, for the rest of his existence.

He gazed at her unconscious face, feeling this love for her settle into every portion of his body. Always watching her, William began to plot. He loved her, so perhaps he was strong enough to circumvent the future. Loving her would not keep him from killing her if he let himself make mistakes. Yet he could not feel the monster now, could not find him anywhere inside him. _Perhaps love had silenced him forever,_ he thought. If he killed her now, it would not be intentional, only a horrible accident. He knew he would have to be unbelievably careful, never able to let his guard down. Always controlling his breath, keeping a cautious distance. Could he be with her and leave her human, he wondered.

Deliberately, he took a deep breath, and then another, letting her scent rip through him like a wildfire. The room was thick with her perfume; her fragrance was layered on every surface. His head swam, he would have to get used to it, if he was ever going to attempt any kind of relationship with her. He took another deep breath. William watched her sleep until the sun rose, angry with it for deciding to shine; he continued to plot and breathe before it was time for him to leave.


End file.
